Cable sealing apparatus and methods
Cable channel apparatus are provided that may be employed for routing system cables through open spaces defined within chassis walls, barriers or other fixed surfaces that separate different compartments or areas of an information handling system chassis. The cable channel apparatus may form a seal around the inserted system cables that prevents recirculation of cooling air through the open spaces between the different compartments. In one example, the cable channel apparatus may be employed to form such a seal around system cables that are routed through an open space to pass though or around a fan gantry that is mounted within a chassis of an information handling system chassis.
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This invention relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly, to cable sealing apparatus and methods for information handling systems.
BACKGROUNDAs the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
As server system workloads grow, eliminating airflow recirculation in server system chassis enclosures becomes more important in order to properly cool server systems.
Next, in step 308 the cable door 115 is swung closed (as shown by the arrow in
As shown in
As shown in
Another conventional solution utilizes flexible molded rubber fingers that attach to and extend into a cable trough provided adjacent the front of a chassis enclosure for receiving cables through hinged plastic door provided at the top of the cable trough. The conventional cable trough is positioned at one side of the chassis enclosure between an inner surface of the chassis enclosure side wall and the end of a fan gantry. The rubber fingers flex to allow room for adjustment of cables that are inserted from above through the open door and into the cable trough. However, the rubber fingers do not form a seal against cooling airflow recirculation out of the chassis enclosure since a large amount of open area exists around and between the rubber fingers. This open area allows flow of recirculated cooling air through the trough from inside of the chassis enclosure to the ambient environment outside the chassis enclosure.
Elongated foam strips have been employed between flat and planar sheet metal surfaces of a server chassis, such as between the underside surface of a chassis top cover and the upper surface of a fan gantry or between the lower surface of a fan gantry and the upper side of a chassis bottom wall.
SUMMARYDisclosed herein are cable channel apparatus that may be employed for routing system cables through open spaces defined within chassis walls, barriers or other fixed surfaces that separate different compartments or areas of an information handling system chassis. In one embodiment, the disclosed cable channel apparatus may form a seal around the inserted system cables that prevents recirculation of cooling air through the open spaces between the different compartments. In another embodiment, the cable channel apparatus may be employed to form such a seal around system cables that are routed through an open space to pass though or around a fan gantry that is mounted within a chassis of an information handling system chassis. Besides cables, the disclosed cable channel apparatus may also or alternatively be employed to form such a seal around other objects besides cables (e.g., such as thermometer probe, remote camera lens, etc.) that that transverse an enclosed section of an information handling system chassis.
In one embodiment, cables may be inserted and sealed against airflow recirculation within the disclosed cable channel apparatus in a position adjacent a non-removable fan gantry that is integrally formed as part of a 1U chassis structure or otherwise when one or more installed cooling fans are present. In another embodiment, the disclosed cable channel apparatus may be positioned to route and seal system cables against airflow recirculation in a position within a designated side open space positioned on one side of a fan gantry within a chassis, or within a designated intermediate open space (e.g., center open space) between fan gantry sections within a chassis. In one embodiment, the disclosed cable channel apparatus may be configured to slide into a confined fixed open space or open space between two fixed (e.g., temporarily or permanently fixed) walls or other spaced-apart vertical surfaces of the chassis (e.g., between a fan gantry end wall and an adjacent chassis side wall, between two non-fan gantry surfaces such as between a chassis end wall and a chassis intermediate walls, etc.), and without requiring snap or other fasteners or features to retain the cable channel to the chassis. In another embodiment, the disclosed cable channel apparatus may be configured so that it may be installed into, and removed from, a designated open space while adjacent cooling fans or a cooling fan gantry is present in the chassis (or are a permanent non-removable part of the chassis).
Benefits that may be realized in various different embodiments disclosed herein include, but are not limited to, providing a better and more consistent seal against airflow around system cables than is possible with conventional solutions, providing greater ease to properly route system cables from the interior of an information handling system chassis to the chassis exterior while at the same time providing a cable sealing performance that is less sensitive to inconsistent cable placement within the cable channel, providing consistent cable-sealing performance (even after system cables are removed and installed in a different order or different cables are installed) by using compressible foam or other compressible media that returns to its original shape when contact with system cables is removed, may be engineered and dimensioned to be backwards compatible with previous or pre-existing fan gantry and chassis configurations or may employ simplified geometry and fewer parts where backwards chassis compatibility is not required, may be utilized with minimal rubbing of cables against foam since the cable channel may be configured to closes around the foam and inserted cables (i.e., cables do not need to be slid lengthwise through the disclosed cable channel), provision of the same consistent quality seal around system cables regardless of how many system cables are populated and routed through the disclosed cable channel apparatus, provision of a seal through the disclosed cable channel apparatus when no cables are routed through the channel, provision of a cable channel apparatus that is dimensioned to provide a seal against air recirculation that has a length that extends the entire depth of an adjacent fan gantry or cooling fan to provide greater impedance against airflow recirculation through the seal.
In one respect, disclosed herein is an apparatus, including: a shell including a clamp coupled by a hinge to a body of the apparatus, the clamp and body having an open position when apart from each other and a closed position when joined together into contact with each other; and a compressible material disposed on at least one of an inner surface of the clamp or an inner surface of the body. In its closed position the apparatus is slidably receivable into a space defined between two fixed and spaced-apart surfaces of a chassis of an information handling system and forming a seal against airflow when received within the space defined between the two spaced-apart surfaces.
In another respect, disclosed herein is an information handling system, including: a chassis having a space defined between two fixed spaced-apart surfaces; and an apparatus slidably received within the space defined between the two fixed spaced-apart surfaces to form a seal against airflow. The apparatus may include: a shell including a clamp coupled by a hinge to a body of the apparatus, the clamp and body being joined together into contact with each other in a closed position, and a compressible material disposed on at least one of an inner surface of the clamp or an inner surface of the body.
In another respect, disclosed herein is a method, including: moving an apparatus from an open position to a closed position, the apparatus including a shell having a clamp and body that are separate and apart from each other in the open position and that are joined together into contact with each other in the closed position; and installing the closed apparatus into a space defined between two fixed spaced-apart surfaces within a chassis of an information handling system by sliding the closed apparatus into the space to form a seal against airflow. In the method, the apparatus may further include a compressible material disposed on at least one of an inner surface of the clamp or an inner surface of the body.
In the embodiment of
Being sufficiently rigid to prevent outward bowing allows cable channel 412 to be dimensioned to conform and contact the sides of an open space defined within chassis walls or barriers that separate different compartments or areas of an information handling system chassis (e.g., such as open space 790 of
Still referring to
Below are some exemplary compression properties (values) for example embodiments of compressible material that may be used for first block 430. It will be understood that these below values are exemplary only, and that compressible material having values of compression set, indentation force deflection, and/or compression load deflection that are greater or lesser that the exemplary values (and value ranges) given below are also possible.
-
- Compression Set (%)=less than 1% (as measured per ASTM D3574, 22 hours at 22° C., Compressed 50%)
- Indentation Force Deflection=10-28 lbf in one embodiment, 10-17 lbf in another embodiment, and 15-28 lbf in a further embodiment (as measured per ASTM D3574 Test B1 Modified 25% Deflection for 12″×12″×2″ sample 22° C. at 50% relative humidity)
- Compression Load Deflection at 50% compression=1.8 kPa in one embodiment. 3.03 kPa in another embodiment, and 1.8 to 3.03 kPa in a further embodiment (as measured per ASTM D3574C Modified)
However, any other suitable type of foam or non-foam compressible material (e.g., rubber, moldable gel, etc.) may alternately be employed for forming compressible blocks 430 and 432 that is suitable for forming an airflow seal around inserted cable/s 402 when cable channel 412 is closed. Moreover resistance to compression of the compressible material may be varied to fit a given application, e.g., lower values of compression resistance may be selected to provide less resistance to insertion of multiple cables 402.
As shown in
Still referring to
As further shown in
In one embodiment, fan gantry 750 may be permanently fixed to the chassis 700 itself, and cannot be detached or otherwise removed from the rest of the chassis (e.g., 1U computer chassis). However, in other embodiments, a detachable fan gantry 750 may be employed, in which case the detachable fan gantry 750 may be installed and secured (e.g., temporarily fixed with fasteners) in the illustrated position within chassis 700 prior to installation of a closed cable channel 412. Further alternatively, a cable channel 412 may be installed within an information handling system chassis whether or not a fan gantry is present or absent within the chassis, e.g., cable channel 412 may be installed in a space defined between existing chassis structures (e.g., adjacent interior and/or exterior chassis walls) of an information handling system chassis that is sized to receive the cable channel 412. Information regarding information handling systems including a system board (e.g., motherboard) may be found described, for example, in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/988,021, filed Aug. 7, 2020, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
Still referring to
In the assembled configuration of
Although
In one alternate embodiment, a cable channel 412 may be attached to a sidewall of a 2U chassis (e.g., by suitable fasteners) prior to installation of a removable fan gantry and prior to insertion of cables 402 into open cable channel 412. Cables 402 may then be inserted into the opened cable channel 412 while it is attached to the 2U chassis sidewall, an then cable channel 412 closed around the inserted cables 402. A removable fan gantry section may then be installed adjacent the cable channel 412, with an end surface of the fan gantry section contacting one side of cable channel 412 and the chassis sidewall contacting the opposing side of the cable channel 412 to form a seal against airflow recirculation out from (or into) the closed 2U chassis during system operation.
In the embodiment of
As described in relation to the embodiment of
In the embodiment of
Next, in step 1004, cable channel 412 may be opened as shown in
Next, in step 1012, closed cable channel 412 may be installed within chassis base 702 within designated side opening 790 adjacent fan gantry 750 as shown by the arrow in
It will also be understood that the steps of methodology 1000 are exemplary only, and that any other step order and/or combination of fewer, additional and/or alternative steps may be employed that is suitable for installing and de-installing a cable channel and system cables within a designated open space of an information handling system chassis to route the system cables into the interior of the system chassis in a sealed manner that prevents cooling airflow recirculation through or around the system cables and the installed cable channel.
For purposes of this disclosure, an information handling system may include any instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operable to compute, calculate, determine, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate, switch, store, display, communicate, manifest, detect, record, reproduce, handle, or utilize any form of information, intelligence, or data for business, scientific, control, or other purposes. For example, an information handling system may be a personal computer (e.g., desktop or laptop), tablet computer, mobile device (e.g., personal digital assistant (PDA) or smart phone), server (e.g., blade server or rack server), a network storage device, or any other suitable device and may vary in size, shape, performance, functionality, and price. The information handling system may include random access memory (RAM), one or more processing resources such as a central processing unit (CPU) or hardware or software control logic, ROM, and/or other types of nonvolatile memory. Additional components of the information handling system may include one or more disk drives, one or more network ports for communicating with external devices as well as various input and output (I/O) devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, touchscreen and/or a video display. The information handling system may also include one or more buses operable to transmit communications between the various hardware components.
While the invention may be adaptable to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example and described herein. However, it should be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the different aspects of the disclosed apparatus and methods may be utilized in various combinations and/or independently. Thus the invention is not limited to only those combinations shown herein, but rather may include other combinations.
Claims
1. An information handling system, comprising:
- a chassis having a space defined between two fixed spaced-apart surfaces, each of the two fixed spaced-apart surfaces extending upward from a bottom of the chassis; and
- an apparatus slidably received within the space defined between the two fixed spaced-apart surfaces to form a seal against airflow, the apparatus comprising: a shell including a clamp and a body, the clamp and body being joined together into contact with each other in a closed position, and a compressible material disposed on at least one of an inner surface of the clamp or an inner surface of the body;
- where each of the clamp and body has a first end that contacts the bottom of the chassis, where the clamp has a second end that is disposed opposite the first end of the clamp and where the body has a second end that is disposed opposite the first end of the body; and
- where the information handling system further comprises a top cover positioned over the apparatus and chassis and in contact with the second end of each of the second end of the clamp and the second end of the body.
2. The information handling system of claim 1, where the clamp and body have an open position when apart from each other.
3. The information handling system of claim 2, where the clamp is coupled by a hinge to the body, the clamp and the body being in the open position when rotated about the hinge apart from each other, and the clamp and the body being in the closed position when rotated about the hinge into contact with each other; and where in the open position the apparatus receives one or more objects between the clamp and the body, and where in the closed position the clamp and body join together around the received objects and the compressible material forms a seal against airflow through the apparatus around the received objects.
4. The information handling system of claim 2, where the clamp is a separate component from the body, the clamp and the body being spaced apart and not contacting each other when in the open position, and the clamp and the body being joined together in contact with each other when in the closed position; and where in the open position the apparatus receives one or more objects between the clamp and the body, and where in the closed position the clamp and body join together around the received objects and the compressible material forms a seal against airflow through the apparatus around the received objects.
5. The information handling system of claim 4, where in the closed position the first end of the clamp and the first end of the body are held together without the presence of a hinge by a first latch tang received within a first latch receptacle, and the second end of the clamp and the second end of the body are held together by a second latch tang received within a second latch receptacle; and where in the open position the first end of the clamp is spaced apart from the first end of the body with the first latch tang not contacting or being received within the first latch receptacle, and the second end of the clamp is spaced apart from the second end of the body with the second latch tang not contacting or being received within the second latch receptacle.
6. The information handling system of claim 2, where the clamp and body join together in the closed position in the absence of any received objects with the compressible material forming a seal between the clamp and the body against airflow.
7. The information handling system of claim 2, where the clamp and body are one piece of injection molded plastic joined together by a living hinge.
8. The information handling system of claim 2, where the compressible material comprises only one of:
- a first block of compressible material that is disposed on an inner surface of the body, and a second block of compressible material disposed on an inner surface of the clamp; or
- a single block of compressible material that is either disposed on an inner surface of the body or on an inner surface of the clamp.
9. The information handling system of claim 2, where the compressible material comprises memory foam.
10. The information handling system of claim 2, where the apparatus has only a single block of compressible material that is either disposed only on an inner surface of the body or disposed only on an inner surface of the clamp.
11. The information handling system of claim 1, where the top cover is positioned over the apparatus and chassis to form a seal against airflow through the closed apparatus and the space defined between the two fixed spaced-apart surfaces of the information handling system.
12. The information handling system of claim 11, where the clamp and body join together to receive one or more objects positioned between the clamp and the body; and where the compressible material forms a seal against airflow through the apparatus around the received objects.
13. The information handling system of claim 12, where the objects are information handling system cables.
14. The information handling system of claim 13, where an outer surface of each of the information handling system cables has at least one marking defined thereon that is aligned with the position of the apparatus.
15. The information handling system of claim 1, where the two fixed spaced-apart surfaces are permanently fixed and spaced-apart surfaces of a chassis of an information handling system.
16. The information handling system of claim 1, where at least one of the two fixed spaced-apart surfaces is a surface of a fan gantry.
17. The information handling system of claim 1, where the chassis of the information handling system is a 1U chassis.
18. The information handling system of claim 1, where the apparatus is slidably received within the space defined between the two fixed spaced-apart surfaces of the chassis without the presence of any fasteners to retain the apparatus to the chassis.
19. The information handling system of claim 1, where the top cover retains the apparatus in place within the space defined between the two fixed spaced-apart surfaces.
20. A method of using the information handling system of claim 1, comprising:
- moving the apparatus of claim 8 from an open position to the closed position, the clamp and the body being apart from each other in the open position; and
- installing the closed apparatus into the space defined between the two fixed spaced-apart surfaces within the chassis of the information handling system of claim 1 by sliding the closed apparatus into the space to form the seal against airflow.
21. The method of claim 20, further comprising inserting one or more cables between the clamp and the body when the apparatus is in the open position; where the step of moving the apparatus from the open position to the closed position comprises joining the clamp and body together around the inserted cables with the compressible material forming a seal against airflow through the apparatus around the inserted cables; and where the step of installing the closed apparatus comprises sliding the closed apparatus with the inserted cables into the space and positioning the top cover over the apparatus and chassis in contact with the second end of each of the second end of the clamp and the second end of the body to form a seal against airflow through the closed apparatus and the space defined between the two fixed spaced-apart surfaces of the information handling system.
22. The method of claim 21, where an outer surface of each of the one or more cables has at least one pre-existing marking defined thereon; and where the step of inserting the one or more cables between the clamp and the body when the apparatus is in the open position comprises using the one or more markings to align the longitudinal position of each of the one or more cables relative to the apparatus prior to the step of joining the clamp and body together around the inserted cables.
23. The method of claim 21, where the chassis of the information handling system comprises a motherboard disposed within the chassis on a first side of the space defined between the two fixed spaced-apart surfaces, and at least one of a backplane or other printed circuit board (PCB) disposed on a second and opposite side of the space defined between the two fixed spaced-apart surfaces; and where the method further comprises joining the clamp and body together around the inserted cables prior to electrically coupling a first end of one or more of the inserted cables to the motherboard, and electrically coupling the first end of one or more of the inserted cables to the motherboard after sliding the closed apparatus with the inserted cables into the space.
24. The method of claim 20, where at least one of the fixed spaced-apart surfaces is a surface of a fan gantry that comprises one or more cooling fans.
25. The method of claim 20, where the chassis of the information handling system is a 1U chassis.
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Type: Grant
Filed: Jan 22, 2021
Date of Patent: May 14, 2024
Patent Publication Number: 20220240409
Assignee: Dell Products L.P. (Round Rock, TX)
Inventors: Jean M. Doglio (Round Rock, TX), Patrick V. Illingworth (Austin, TX)
Primary Examiner: Taylor Morris
Application Number: 17/156,075
International Classification: H05K 7/20 (20060101); H05K 7/14 (20060101);